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Oleg Yuriyovych Verniaiev (; born 29 September 1993) is a Ukrainian
artistic gymnast Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different types of apparatus. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which assigns the '' Code of Points'' used ...
. He is the 2016 Olympic parallel bars champion and individual all-around silver medalist. Verniaiev is also the 2014 World parallel bars champion, the 2015 European individual all-around champion and the 2017 European individual all-around champion. He is a three-time Olympian, having represented Ukraine at the 2012,
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
, and
2024 Olympic Games The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...
. He missed the
2020 Olympic Games The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
due to a doping ban resulting from having tested positive for the banned substance
meldonium Meldonium (International Nonproprietary Name, INN; trade name Mildronate, among others) is a pharmaceutical developed in 1970 by Ivars Kalviņš at the USSR Latvia Institute of Organic Synthesis. It is now manufactured by the Latvian pharma ...
in an out-of-competition test in August 2020.


Personal life

Verniaiev was born in
Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...
. He was educated at the Donetsk State Institute of Health, Physical Education and Sport. Verniaiev resides in
Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
. He is coached by Gennady Sartynsky.


Gymnastics career


2011–2012

During the
2011 Summer Universiade The 2011 Summer Universiade ( zh, c=2011年夏季世界大学生运动会, labels=no), also known as the XXVI Summer Universiade ( zh, c=, s=第二十六届夏季世界大学生运动会, labels=no) and Shenzhen 2011, was hosted in Shenzhen, Gua ...
Verniaiev competed in the men's vault final, finishing in seventh with a score of 15.262. He was also part of the Ukrainian team that finished fifth in the men's team final. At the 2011 World Championships he competed in the team all-around event with
Nikolai Kuksenkov Nikolai Yulievich Kuksenkov (, ; born 2 June 1989) is a retired Russian gymnast who won a silver medal in the team event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He competed for Ukraine for many years and moved to Russia after the 2012 Summer Olympics in Lo ...
,
Vitaliy Nakonechnyi Vitalii Nakonechnyi (Ukrainian: Віталій Наконечний, born 2 August 1986 in Kalush) is a Ukrainian gymnast. At the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, he competed in the team all-around event, joining Oleg Verniaiev, N ...
,
Oleg Stepko Oleg Stepko (, born 25 March 1994 in Zaporizhzhya) is a Ukrainian (until 2014), Azerbaijani (2014–2018) and Russian (since March 2018) gymnast. Career Oleg competed for the national team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Men's artistic team ...
,
Igor Radivilov Igor (Ihor) Vitaliyovych Radivilov (; born 19 October 1992) is a retired Ukrainian gymnast and four-time Olympian, having competed at the 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024 Olympic Games. Although he competed on all apparatuses, he was best known a ...
, and Roman Zozulya, finishing in fifth. He scored 14.461 on
floor A floor is the bottom surface of a room or vehicle. Floors vary from wikt:hovel, simple dirt in a cave to many layered surfaces made with modern technology. Floors may be stone, wood, bamboo, metal or any other material that can support the ex ...
, 13.866 on
pommel horse The pommel horse, also known as vaulting horse, is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. Traditionally, it is used by only male gymnasts. Originally made of a metal frame with a wooden body and a leather cover, the modern pommel horse has a metal bo ...
, 14.833 on
vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosur ...
, and 13.800 on
parallel bars Parallel bars are floor apparatus consisting of two wooden bars approximately long and positioned at above the floor. Parallel bars are used in artistic gymnastics and also for physical therapy and home exercise. Gymnasts may optionally wear ...
. Verniaiev finished sixth in the 2012
American Cup The American Football Association Challenge Cup (also known as the American Association Cup or simply American Cup) was the first major U.S. soccer competition open to teams beyond a single league. It was first held in 1884, and organised by t ...
with a score of 88.132. At the 2012 European Championships he participated in the team all-around final for the Ukrainian team that finished in fifth. He also made the parallel bars final, finishing in second place with a score of 15.66, 0.1 points behind the winner
Marcel Nguyen Marcel Van Minh Phuc Long Nguyen (born 8 September 1987) is a retired German artistic gymnast and three-time Olympian, having represented Germany at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympic Games. He is the 2012 Olympic silver medalist in the all-aro ...
of Germany. He was victorious in the all-around final of the 2012 Ukrainian Championships, scoring 90.300 points and winning by a margin of 2.65 points over second place
Oleg Stepko Oleg Stepko (, born 25 March 1994 in Zaporizhzhya) is a Ukrainian (until 2014), Azerbaijani (2014–2018) and Russian (since March 2018) gymnast. Career Oleg competed for the national team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Men's artistic team ...
. Verniaiev competed at the
2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
in the men's team event alongside
Nikolai Kuksenkov Nikolai Yulievich Kuksenkov (, ; born 2 June 1989) is a retired Russian gymnast who won a silver medal in the team event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He competed for Ukraine for many years and moved to Russia after the 2012 Summer Olympics in Lo ...
, Vitalii Nakonechnyi,
Oleg Stepko Oleg Stepko (, born 25 March 1994 in Zaporizhzhya) is a Ukrainian (until 2014), Azerbaijani (2014–2018) and Russian (since March 2018) gymnast. Career Oleg competed for the national team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Men's artistic team ...
and
Igor Radivilov Igor (Ihor) Vitaliyovych Radivilov (; born 19 October 1992) is a retired Ukrainian gymnast and four-time Olympian, having competed at the 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024 Olympic Games. Although he competed on all apparatuses, he was best known a ...
. In the team final Ukraine finished in fourth with a score of 271.526, missing out on a medal by less than 0.2 points. Ukraine was initially awarded third place for a bronze medal; however following an appeal from Japan over a pommel horse score, the Japanese team was awarded an extra 0.7 points, allowing them to move from fourth place to second, knocking Ukraine out of the medals in the process. Verniaiev finished eleventh in the individual all-around final with a score of 88.931.


2013–2016

Verniaiev won the Ukrainian National Championships in 2013. He took the silver medal in the individual all-around finals at the 2013 American Cup. He won the bronze medal in the individual all-around at the 2013 European Championships in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
, Russia. At the 2013 Summer Universiade, Verniaiev led his Ukrainian team (
Igor Radivilov Igor (Ihor) Vitaliyovych Radivilov (; born 19 October 1992) is a retired Ukrainian gymnast and four-time Olympian, having competed at the 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024 Olympic Games. Although he competed on all apparatuses, he was best known a ...
,
Oleg Stepko Oleg Stepko (, born 25 March 1994 in Zaporizhzhya) is a Ukrainian (until 2014), Azerbaijani (2014–2018) and Russian (since March 2018) gymnast. Career Oleg competed for the national team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Men's artistic team ...
,
Petro Pakhnyuk Petro Pakhnyuk (, also spelled Pakhniuk, born 26 November 1991 in Kyiv) is a Ukrainian (until 2014 and after 2017) and Azerbaijani (2014-2017) male artistic gymnast and member of the national team. Career He participated at the 2014 World Arti ...
, and
Maksym Semiankiv Maksym Oleksandrovych Semiankiv (; born January 20, 1992) is a Ukrainian male artistic gymnast and part of the national team. He participated at the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow, and qualified for the 2016 Summer Oly ...
) to a second-place finish in the team final, and qualified for the all-around final. He won the all-around bronze medal (tied with Russian gymnast
David Belyavskiy David Sagitovich Belyavskiy ( rus, Давид Сагитович Белявский, , dɐˈvʲid bʲɪˈlʲafskʲɪɪ̯; born 23 February 1992) is a Russian artistic gymnast and three-time Olympian, representing Russia at the 2016 Summer Olympi ...
). He won another bronze medal in the parallel bars final. In May 2014, at the 2014 European Championships in
Sofia, Bulgaria Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
, Verniaiev contributed scores of 15.100 (floor), 14.400 (pommel horse), 14.900 (rings), 14.783 (vault), 15.591 (parallel bars), and 14.600 (horizontal bar), helping Ukraine win the team bronze medal with a total score of 262.087 points behind
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
. In event finals, Verniaiev won the gold medal on the parallel bars (15.966) and won the bronze medal on vault (14.916). He won gold on the parallel bars at the 2014 World Championships in
Nanning, China Nanning; is the capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China. It is known as the "Green City (绿城) " because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South of Guangxi, Nanning is surrounded by a hil ...
. After the wrong anthem (the anthem of Uzbekistan) was played during the medal ceremony, he said "It was written in my face that I didn't like it. They came up and apologised for the anthem and promised to change it for TV broadcast. But I thought it would be incorrect, because I screwed up my face and it will be even worse if the anthem is replaced." Verniaiev won the 2015 American Cup in Arlington, Texas with a score of 90.597, 0.499 over silver medalist and 2013 World Championships all-around silver medalist Ryōhei Katō of Japan. Verniaiev also became the FIG World Cup series champion. At the 2015 European Championships Verniaiev won the individual all-around with a score of 89.582, beating 2013 champion
David Belyavskiy David Sagitovich Belyavskiy ( rus, Давид Сагитович Белявский, , dɐˈvʲid bʲɪˈlʲafskʲɪɪ̯; born 23 February 1992) is a Russian artistic gymnast and three-time Olympian, representing Russia at the 2016 Summer Olympi ...
. He also qualified to the parallel bars final where he won the gold medal with a score of 15.866. At the
2015 European Games The 1st European Games (), also known as the 2015 European Games or Baku 2015 (), were the inaugural edition of the European Games, an international multi-sport event for athletes representing the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of the Europe ...
, Verniaiev was part of the Ukrainian team, winning silver in the team final behind Russia. Verniaiev qualified into the all-around, floor exercise, pommel horse, vault, parallel bars, and high bar finals. He won the all-around final with a score of 90.332, and the vault final with a score of 15.266. He placed sixth on floor exercise with 14.233, and fifth on pommel horse (13.833), parallel bars (14.633), and high bar (14.900). At the 2016 European Championships Verniaiev won a gold medal on vault and a silver medal on parallel bars. In August 2016, at the
2016 Olympic Games The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
, he won the silver medal in the men's all-around competition with a score of 92.266, only 0.099 behind
Kōhei Uchimura is a Japanese retired artistic gymnast. He is a seven-time Olympic medalist (team, all-around and floor exercise), winning three golds and four silvers, and a 21-time World medalist (team, all-around, floor exercise, parallel bars and the hor ...
's 92.365. Verniaiev's Olympic all-around medal was Ukraine's first since
Alexander Beresch Oleksandr Beresch (; 12 October 1977, Pervomaisk – 29 February 2004, Kyiv) was a gymnast from Ukraine and Olympic medallist at the 2000 Sydney Games. Coached by former Soviet World Champion Igor Korobchinsky, Beresch began competing internat ...
won bronze at the
2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...
. Verniaiev also gained prominence for his public apology over the Ukrainian squad's strategy during the team final, when due to injuries they did not put up gymnasts on all events, effectively ruling the team out of contention. He won the gold medal on the parallel bars, scoring 16.041, giving Ukraine its first gymnastics gold at the Games since 2004. He also finished fifth on vault and eighth on pommel horse and horizontal bar.


2017–2020

At the 2017 European Championships Verniaiev won gold medals in the individual all-around and on the parallel bars, and a bronze medal on vault. At the
2017 Summer Universiade The 2017 Summer Universiade (), officially known as the XXIX Summer Universiade ( zh, t=第二十九屆夏季世界大學運動會, p=Dì èrshíjiǔ jiè xiàjì shìjiè dàxué yùndònghuì) and commonly called Taipei 2017 ( zh, t=台北201 ...
, Verniaiev won the gold medal in the individual all-around competition, and won silver with the team and on vault and pommel horse, and won the bronze medal on rings. At the 2017 World Championships Verniaiev won silver on parallel bars behind
Zou Jingyuan Zou Jingyuan ( zh, s=邹敬园 , t=邹敬园 , p=Zōu Jìngyuán, born 3 January 1998) is a Chinese artistic gymnast who specializes in parallel bars and rings. He is a two-time Olympic champion on parallel bars, winning gold at the 2020 and 2 ...
. At the 2018 World Championships Verniaiev once again won silver on parallel bars behind Zou. In 2019 Verniaiev competed at the
European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...
where he placed seventh on pommel horse and eighth on parallel bars. He next competed at the
2019 European Games The 2nd European Games 2019 (, ''Jeŭrapiejskija huĺni 2019''; , ''Yevropeyskiye igry 2019''), also known as the 2019 European Games or Minsk 2019 (; ), were held in Minsk, Belarus, from 21 June to 30 June 2019. The games featured 200 events in ...
where he won gold on parallel bars, silver in the all-around and on pommel horse, both behind
David Belyavskiy David Sagitovich Belyavskiy ( rus, Давид Сагитович Белявский, , dɐˈvʲid bʲɪˈlʲafskʲɪɪ̯; born 23 February 1992) is a Russian artistic gymnast and three-time Olympian, representing Russia at the 2016 Summer Olympi ...
. At the 2019 World Championships Verniaiev won bronze in the all-around behind
Nikita Nagornyy Nikita Vladimirovich Nagornyy ( rus, Никита Владимирович Нагорный, , nʲɪˈkʲitə nɐˈɡornɨɪ̯, born 12 February 1997 in Rostov-on-Don, Rostov Oblast, Russia) is a Russian artistic gymnast and two-time Olympian, r ...
and
Artur Dalaloyan Artur Grachyevich Dalaloyan (Russian: Артур Грачьевич Далалоян) born 26 April 1996 is a Russian artistic gymnast who represented ROC at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He was part of the teams who won gold at the 2020 Olympic G ...
. Verniaiev began 2020 competing at the
American Cup The American Football Association Challenge Cup (also known as the American Association Cup or simply American Cup) was the first major U.S. soccer competition open to teams beyond a single league. It was first held in 1884, and organised by t ...
, where he won silver behind
Sam Mikulak Samuel Anthony Mikulak (born October 13, 1992) is an American gymnastics coach. A retired artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast, he was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team. He is a six-time U.S. national all-aro ...
. The remainder of competitions in 2020 were either canceled or postponed due to the global
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.


Doping and ban

In December 2020 Verniaiev was notified by the
International Gymnastics Federation The International Gymnastics Federation ( French: ''Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique'', abbr. FIG) is the body governing competition in all disciplines of gymnastics. Its headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded on 23 ...
that he was provisionally suspended from competition, backdated to November 2020. The reason for the suspension was a positive test for
meldonium Meldonium (International Nonproprietary Name, INN; trade name Mildronate, among others) is a pharmaceutical developed in 1970 by Ivars Kalviņš at the USSR Latvia Institute of Organic Synthesis. It is now manufactured by the Latvian pharma ...
, which was banned by the
World Anti-Doping Agency The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; , AMA) is an international organization co-founded by the governments of over 140 nations along with the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against d ...
starting in January 2016. Following arbitration, the provisional suspension was upheld and Verniaiev was banned from competition for four years. During this suspension timeframe Verniaiev would miss both the
2020 Olympic Games The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
(rescheduled to 2021) and the
2024 Olympic Games The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...
. In July 2021 Verniaiev expressed his intention to appeal the suspension to the
Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...
, contending that meldonium was not found in subsequent tests. He acknowledged the presence of the drug in his body, but said he does not know how it got there. On March 14, 2023, Verniaiev announced that his appeal was successful and the CAS reduced his ban to two years, resulting in his ability to return to competition immediately.


Post-ban gymnastics career


2023–2024

Verniaiev made his return to competition in September 2023 at the Mersin Challenge Cup where he won gold on parallel bars and silver on pommel horse behind
Ahmad Abu Al-Soud Ahmad Abu Al-Soud (; born 5 July 1995) is a Jordanian artistic gymnast. He became the first gymnast from Jordan to medal at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships when he won the silver medal on pommel horse at the 2022 World Championships. ...
. He competed at the 2023 World Championships where he helped Ukraine finish twelfth during qualifications. Although they didn't qualify to the team final, they qualified a full team to the
2024 Olympic Games The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...
. Verniaiev competed at the
2024 European Championships 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...
alongside Nazar Chepurnyi,
Illia Kovtun Illia Yuriiovych Kovtun (; born 10 August 2003) is a Ukrainian Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. He is the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, 2023 World all-around silver medalist and 2021 World Artistic Gymnastics Championship ...
,
Igor Radivilov Igor (Ihor) Vitaliyovych Radivilov (; born 19 October 1992) is a retired Ukrainian gymnast and four-time Olympian, having competed at the 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024 Olympic Games. Although he competed on all apparatuses, he was best known a ...
, and Radomyr Stelmakh; together they qualified to the team final in first place and individually Verniaiev won silver in the all-around behind
Marios Georgiou Marios Georgiou (; born 10 November 1997) is a Cypriot artistic gymnast. He is the 2024 European all-around champion, and the 2022 European horizontal bar champion and the first gymnast from Cyprus to win a European title, and a major all-arou ...
. During the team final Verniaiev contributed scores on all six apparatuses towards Ukraine's first place finish. Verniaiev competed at the
2024 Olympic Games The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...
alongside Chepurnyi, Kovtun, Radivilov, and Stelmakh. During the
qualification round Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...
he helped Ukraine qualify to the team final and individually he qualified to the all-around, pommel horse, and parallel bars finals. During the
team final A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to info ...
Verniaiev contributed scores on all six apparatuses towards Ukraine's fifth place finish. He finished eighth in the all-around, fifth on pommel horse, and eighth on parallel bars.


Competitive history


Olympic results


2012 London Olympics


2016 Rio Olympics


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Verniaiev, Oleg 1993 births Living people Sportspeople from Donetsk Gymnasts from Donetsk Oblast Ukrainian male artistic gymnasts Armed Forces (sports society) sportspeople in Ukraine Olympic gymnasts for Ukraine Olympic gold medalists for Ukraine Olympic silver medalists for Ukraine Olympic medalists in gymnastics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2012 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2016 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2015 European Games Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships European Games medalists in gymnastics European Games gold medalists for Ukraine European Games silver medalists for Ukraine Summer World University Games medalists in gymnastics FISU World University Games gold medalists for Ukraine FISU World University Games silver medalists for Ukraine FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Ukraine Medalists at the 2013 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2015 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2017 Summer Universiade European champions in gymnastics Ukrainian sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in gymnastics Recipients of the Order of Danylo Halytsky 21st-century Ukrainian sportsmen Gymnasts at the 2024 Summer Olympics